The Idolatrous Eye : Iconoclasm and Theater in Early-Modern England

This study argues that the century after the Reformation saw a crisis in the way that Europeans expressed their religious experience. Focusing specifically on how this crisis affected the drama of England, O'Connell shows that Reformation culture was preoccupied with idolatry and that the theater was frequently attacked as idolatrous. This anti-theatricalism notably targeted the traditional cycles of mystery plays--a type of vernacular, popular biblical theater that from a modern perspective would seem ideally suited to advance the Reformation project. The Idolatrous Eye provides a wide perspective on iconoclasm in the sixteenth century, and in so doing, helps us to understand why this biblical theater was found transgressive and what this meant for the secular theater that followed. "In this book, author Michael O'Connell argues that the crisis in religious expression precipitated by the Reformation had a particular effect on the drama of England. He interrogates the way the anti-theatrical writers of the 1570s skewered the stage with the term "idolatrous" and understands this in terms of the preoccupation with idolatry that characterizes Reformation culture. An immediate target of this anti-theatricalism were the traditional cycles of mystery plays, which were subjected to the earliest - and most successful - of anti-theatrical attacks. Providing a wider perspective on iconoclasm in the sixteenth century, the book explores why this theater was found transgressive and what this meant for the emergent secular theater of Shakespeare and his contemporaries."--Résumé de l'éditeur "In this book, author Michael O'Connell argues that the crisis in religious expression precipitated by the Reformation had a particular effect on the drama of England. He interrogates the way the anti-theatrical writers of the 1570s skewered the stage with the term "idolatrous" and understands this in terms of the preoccupation with idolatry that characterizes Reformation culture. An immediate target of this anti-theatricalism were the traditional cycles of mystery plays, which were subjected to the earliest - and most successful - of anti-theatrical attacks. Providing a wider perspective on iconoclasm in the sixteenth century, the book explores why this theater was found transgressive and what this meant for the emergent secular theater of Shakespeare and his contemporaries."--BOOK JACKET. "In this book, Phillip Cary argues that Augustine invented the concept of the self as a private inner space - a space into which one can enter and in which one can find God." "Augustine invents the inner self, Cary argues, in order to solve a particular conceptual problem. Augustine is attracted to the Neoplatonist inward turn, which located God within the soul, yet remains loyal to the orthodox Catholic teaching that the soul is not divine. He combines the two emphases by urging us to turn "in then up"--To enter the inner world of the self before gazing at the divine Light above the human mind."--Jacket Michael O'Connell shows that Reformation culture was preoccupied with idolatry and that the theatre was attacked as idolatrous. This anti-theatricalism targeted the traditional mystery plays. The text aims to explain what this meant for the secular theatre that followed Michael O'connell. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 177-187) And Index.